Shavethewhales

The Waterboggin was removed in 2009 I believe (or was it 2008?). It was formerly an original custom waterboggin of which Dollywood has a nearly identical version still operating. It was somewhat similar to some of the in-park waterslides that smaller parks added around the 1980s-90s, but was much larger and the rafts were large enough to fit an entire family. In 2003 they "upgraded" it and renamed it "Waterworks Waterboggin" with new boats and a modified layout. The exact details about why the suddenly took it out just a few years later will probably never be openly discussed, but I think it had something to do with legal and liability issues. Since it didn't have restraints and was fairly aggressive (especially so after the upgrade), it was possible for people to do stupid things like sticking their hands out to touch the side and then get them hit on something.I've heard some things alluded to involving people managing to hurt themselves... I've heard various things about the tower itself in the recent past. I think it remains standing for two reasons: it holds various communications/weather equipment, and it's fairly expensive to take down when there's no real reason for them too. That's mostly my speculation though, but economics usually has a lot to do with it. I've got some photos below from 2007. I think it's an interesting attraction to look back on, as it's one of the last truly custom and unique rides that the Herschends built before they shifted to soley utilizing mainstream vendors and manufacturers in the 90s.

There are few secrets with SDC developments if you watch them for very long. Below is a piece from the most recent attraction concept surveys. Every ride since at least Powderkeg has involved some form of guest feedback using, among other things, these guest surveys. We don't know what the actual theme will be, or how many rides there will be, but the general gist of things is that they're re-doing Geyser Gulch and there will be some kiddie/family flats included. The S&S double shot is almost definitely going to be included because they made such a big deal about it in all of the concept pitches, and they need to do something with it anyway. I've heard a number of conflicting rumors over how much of GG will be re-used vs. them building an entirely new play structure. Those are the types of details that actually change a surprising amount behind the scenes between concept and final design. I imagine all of the old Geyser Gulch stuff in the lake will be ripped out though.

Had a fantastic visit to SDC on Saturday and Sunday. I stayed at Deer Run hotel, which is the closest hotel to SDC and took a shuttle over in the morning. The park actually opens the main square area an hour before the rest of the park opens so that guests can get breakfast, mill around, and listen to whatever band is playing in the central stage. The best part about this is that the park does this great opening ceremony, where they invite all the veterans in attendance to raise the flag. Then everyone says the pledge of allegiance and sings the national anthem before they drop the ropes and the rest of the park opens. I won't go to far into the blow-by-blow of what I did, but in summary: I got rides on Outlaw Run, Powderkeg, Wildfire, Thunderation, and The Giant Swing, Flooded mine, and the train, watched a lot of craftsmen, saw the Saloon Show and a bunch of bluegrass, and ate a huge pile of ribs. That was just on Saturday. On Sunday I did a bit more of the same, but took it easier and made sure to stop by some of the older parts of the park as well. There are some really great treasures just off the West side of the main square that I feel you really have to experience if you want the "true SDC experience". First off there's an authentic 1880's log cabin that is divided into two sections. SDC's in-house bluegrass band plays in one half, while the other half is actually setup exactly the way it would be in 1880 and staffed by a couple of residents like a little living history museum. This is what a lot of the park started out as. There's also the authentic log cabin church and school, both of which were also salvaged log by log and resurrected in the park back in 1960. Somewhere way in the back is the massive steam powered lathe, which is awesome to see in operation. There's also another example log cabin which is sadly in poor repair, a petting zoo, and the apple butter store which is in a cabin that was built by SDC craftsmen in a similar style to the authentic old cabins around it. As far as new stuff goes: As was mentioned earlier, they've been trying out some new things with the coaster queues. They hold everyone back in the powderkeg line at the point where they have the "chicken" exit, and let people move into the actual loading dock in small groups. They also "assign" seats for Outlaw Run, by holding the queue line back right where it enters the loading dock. I think they are doing this to make it easier on the new trailblazer pass system, which is continually expanding. It is just like what SF does with fast pass... Took lots of pictures of the construction site. Not a whole lot has changed. They have some time before they need to start pouring the slabs I assume. It is rumored that Geyser Gulch will close in August, and not a whole lot will be kept during the transformation into the new area. The new 'hi-striker' game that was setup near Geyser Gulch is being moved to the Grand Expo... really not a fan of it. I try not to be too much of an SDC "purist" these days, but that thing really goes against what the park has been doing all along and even the GP have been calling it out. If they could even just dress it up a little so it wasn't so obviously modern it would be a lot better, just like so many of the other games. The SDC staff is still the best I've ever seen. So many of them have a true passion for the park and have been working there for decades. There are less and less old timers every year, but the spirit they have is really what makes the park as special as it is. I'll try to keep the photos abbreviated since I took so many and this is a discussion thread. If you want more, I have them all on my site here: http://sdcfans.com/photos/feat/25 The park is trying out a year long sub-theme this year: Celebrate America. This patriotic theme was especially poignant for this Memorial Day weekend. The log cabin guy is still doing his thing. I think this is one of the coolest crafts in the park. This is the flag raising ceremony I mentioned. The Giant Swing, the original screamin' swing in a barn. The new Return of Carrie Nation saloon show. This is the smaller lathe booth in the park. It think it's also steam-powered, but on a smaller scale. They make a lot of bats and canes here among other things. The tree canopy that exists throughout the entire park is a very understated yet hugely important part of SDC. The glassblowers are always great to watch and a crowd favorite. Geyser Gulch has been missing it's sign all year... a sign of things to come. This is the farthest edge heading back towards the old waterboggin tower. Doesn't extend much beyond the rest of the current GG area. You can see some utilities sticking out of the ground. Does this indicate potential ride locations? This will probably go bye-bye real soon. Lots of bluegrass music all over the park. This is the stack of ribs I got from the Hogwild BBQ stand in the Exposition hall where they sometimes invite outside BBQ joints for the Bluegrass and BBQ fest. SDC's BBQ is OK, but leaves something to be desired. They also had a Dickey's stand, but not much else in the way of outside establishments. This is the apple dumpling with ice cream that seems to be only available during Christmas and Bluegrass and BBQ. It might be my favorite SDC dessert. Ray Johnson, the knife maker, is one of the true old timers. His demonstrations are very educational and will make you wish for the ways things used to be in regards to craftsmanship. Flooded mine got some TLC this year and is as good as ever. Yay trains!

Really great day today. I guess I'll save the blow-by-blow and photos for when I get home tomorrow night or Monday, but to sum it up: I ate a ton of food, rode just about everything, listened to a ton of bluegrass, and watched a lot of craftsmen. Days with off-and-on rain are the best days to visit SDC. Sure, the rides close down for a fairly long bit when there's lightning in the area, but the park just clears out so that when things open up again you have it all to yourself. There's tons to do besides rides anyway, I spent half my time today at the saloon show, listening to various bluegrass bands (they're having a Bluegrass and BBQ festival right now), and shopping and watching craftsmen do their thing. In addition to all that I got my fill of Wildfire, Powderkeg, Outlaw Run, Thunderation, The Giant Swing, Flooded Mine, Fire-in-the-hole, the train... basically every big ride except the water rides. Not much to report on the construction. Looks about the same as the previous photos, but I took some new photos that detail where the utilities are being placed. I assume that will allow us to estimate where they're putting the new rides. A lot of stuff is going on behind the scenes right now to get ready for the new expansion I'm told.

They were assigning seats earlier in the day, but they seem to have given that up due to low crowds. The rain has been closing rides off and off and driving people away. Apparently the assigned seats thing is something they do on days that are projected to be really busy. More details when I get back to the hotel tonight.

I don't know if this has been pointed a whole bunch yet, but that pretty much describes S&S family launch coasters exactly, and one would fit HW perfectly. I'm pretty sure Mack could also meet those specs, but I feel like S&S got it so right when they built PK and aside from the sensitive sensors it's hard to believe they haven't had any more buyers. HW would be the perfect client for them to focus on.

While we were there, Powder Keg was pretty reliable, at least i didn't know it broke down. But whenever it rains, SDC will shut down the ride because I've heard it's sensitive to rain. The crew worked very hard and they ran three trains very smoothly. Not sure how reliable the info was, but I had a conversation with a guy at Wild Adventures who said he used to work at SDC back when Powder Keg was first installed, and he said the reason it can't run in the rain is because the weird sloped transfer track from the station to the launch rides on steel wheels on train rails and they slip when they're wet. Seemed semi-plausible to me. I have heard both this and that the sensors utilize lasers which go hay-wire when moisture gets on them. Both seem like issues that should have been avoided and addressed, but alas, PK still closes down for the slightest sprinkle. Maybe I'll see you there on Sunday yankeeman. I suggest heading to OR first and then PK.

Due to the nature of OR's pre-drop design, the chain speed should have little discernible effect on the ride experience. If they have indeed slowed it down, that's an improvement in all kinds of ways.It'll help make the ride feel longer for one thing, which will cut down complaints about it being too short. The unique views that you barely got to enjoy before are a plus as well.

Great trip reports guys, keep them coming! The backward seats on TNT were removed a couple years ago - something about insurance. It's nice how even on crowded days you can still get a huge amount of value out of a trip to SDC. All that and you didn't even touch on the shopping, craft demos, and shows. I'm planning a trip for next weekend. Hope to get a bunch of new photos of the construction and all the changes I've been hearing about. Has it been mentioned here yet that the park took out a kiddie ride from HDH? I thought that was strange, but it doesn't exactly make much of an impact since it was fairly awkward for its target age group and seemed to suffer from low ridership. If you're going to have a toddler/tiny kid ride, you really need adults to be able to ride with their kids.

Lol, I was wondering why anyone following this project would be so suddenly so outlandish as to call it a scam, and then I got to this part and realized that you're a GP who just wondered in. Welcome to TPR, but seriously, lurk awhile. This project is moving along as can reasonably be expected. If you had read through some of the recent discussion, you would see where we talked about how they are developing the sports complex first and have a lot of groundwork and other developments to focus on right now. The theme park is set to open in 2016, but if you have any experience watching developments like this you know that things will get done when they get done and as long as there's notable progression there's no need to worry. Your scam accusation is unwarranted, to say the least. At this point in time they will have most, if not all of their vendors confirmed and will announce that kind of thing to the public when they are good and ready to, which probably won't be until next year.

That's very cool, I really want to see more details on how it was actually constructed. It looks like PVC rails connected laterally to 2x4'x, with a single 2x4 girder underneath (strong axis), and the supports look to also be 2x4 or close, at 4' spacings and unbraced lengths up to 10' or more. I don't get how that is so sturdy, everything I know is telling me the PVC rails should snap off and the lift hill should fall over. There doesn't seem to be anything there to handle moment at the base unless he has it mounted into concrete... I can't see any major deflections though, so he must have it more figured out than it looks.

I think you definitely want to start with either PK or Outlaw Run. Powderkeg still has a lot of downtime, so you want to hit it up and get a few rides in when you can. Outlaw Run's queue will spike briefly about an hour after opening, go down some, and then hit a peak in the afternoon. Near closing time though it will empty out considerably. Don't worry about getting on Wildfire - it has remarkably better capacity and a much smaller audience, so even on busy days it will only have a 10-20 minute wait. Thunderation never has too much of a wait either, unless they are only running one train. After morning rides, I recommend seeing some shows. The new saloon show is supposed to be good. I don't think the crowds will be terrible. It sounds like it will be a nice weekend, but school isn't out just yet... It might be busy, but not jammed like it will be on weekends later in the summer.

Thanks for the info TheSchwitek! This is yet another great year of updates and improvements to the park since the hand-over in ownership. I think I'll have to pay the place a visit again this year. I've been holding off until they got a decent new ride, but I think flyers are good enough. With all the improvements, all that's missing is a new ride to point to as the marquee attraction. I hope they dish out the big bucks next year and nudge this park over the ledge into being a bonafide regional attraction again.

Trying to piece together tidbits from the GP who have seen it in person. So far they are saying that it's not a tower ride, but it looks fun, yet not terribly thrilling. My suspicion that it's a set of flyers is growing. Hopefully the park updates us tomorrow.

By 'road', they meant in-park pathway. I can't tell for sure, but it might have taken the location of the old Rotor that has been SBNO for years, or more likely some of the area formerly occupied by the Chance shot and drop tower. Edit: Scratch that, from looking at the satellite footage of the park it seems the photo was taken next to the go-kart track... Not sure why they are moving the path there since there's not much space in the area to put anything unless they are getting rid of the go-karts.

A flying scooters would make sense for the situation. They're fairly cheap, good for family-oriented parks, and Larson is nearby. I could see a deal falling through somewhere and then FC picked one up. I would be even happier with an Air Race though.

I'm hoping they announce today. The park opened yesterday I believe. They apparently hadn't planned to add a new ride this year (White Water Bay is getting some new slides), but an opportunity came up so they took it. Not sure what that means, but hopefully its a quality, park model ride with some decent thrills. FC is lacking a good marquee attraction that isn't 30 years old.

^Interesting that it has taken so long for someone to push for that. I guess the success of OpenTTD has opened people's eyes a little. If they are following the same process and are successful, I can't help but think this would have been huge just 5 years ago. Maybe there will be a renaissance for the game where a new generation of modelers turns it into a hugely elaborate game with every kind of ride ever manufactured. That could be more interesting for casual gamers than what TPS is trying to do.

Not a huge surprise. This is a multi-phase project, and it's typical to see things moved around a bit. I think they are overestimating the impact of the sports complexes, but then again a well managed complex can be a huge asset to the community. Is there anyone in the area who can get pictures of the land? I'm not sure how accessible it is, but it would be interesting to see the clearing going on and a general overview of where this actually is.

We keep saying how unlikely it is that they'll "make it", but somehow they persist. As of Easter Sunday, the coaster looked like it was at least 50% complete when I drove past. For the track work that is, I'm sure it will take a year after they've put it together to actually get it to work, just like the tilt. They've got a lot of rides almost ready to setup, but they lack the manpower to get over the threshold of actually getting them operating from what I can tell. Didn't they only raise like $8,000 of the $20,000 goal? They've barely got any money.

That is truly bizzare. How much compressed air do you have to pump into one of those things to make that happen? And why would anyone do that? Sounds like some employee was messing around...

Lame. What a waste of a classic 1960's wild west attraction. They had a humble authenticity for building these types of attractions back then that is hard to find now. I predict they'll be able to build enough momentum to tear down the old park, but then everything will stall out and that will be the last we'll hear about this park and "Resurrection Mountain" until they finally throw in the towel and sell the property so houses can be slapped across it.

Link ... and with that, my optimism has faded for this project. Even if they can come out with acceptable graphics and a semi-realistic playing atmosphere, micro-transactions are a deal-breaker and the fact that they are openly considering them for A PC GAME shows that they truly don't have a clue and aren't going to make a user-focused game. I mean, really; they destroyed the whole purpose of the article right there.

Once again this year the weather hasn't been cooperative for much of the season so far. It will get better, things usually even out, but I do wish they'd catch a break and get a consistently good season for once. Now that the weather is picking up and school is getting out though, expect it to start staying busy through summer.

I didn't see any construction when we were there last weekend. There's a new game stall by the Barn Swing and a new popcorn stand at the Frisco Barn. That's about it. Oh, yes, and there were WAY fewer benches in Half Dollar Holler. You know, the place where we ABSOLUTELY NEED MORE BENCHES. You didn't notice the massive clearing behind GG that everyone's been talking about? Haven't seen any new photos since the last MiG update. It'll be a month before I get out there myself, but I don't expect them to move too quickly just yet. It seems to be all clearing and land prep at this point.